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John McCain is competitive with Barack Obama, but the Democrat is dominating the race.
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If you were to make a movie about the general election campaign so far, John McCain would be a supporting actor.

Despite vulnerabilities that have kept the race closer in polls than most analysts expected — and McCain even jumped to a 4-percentage-point lead among likely voters in a USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday — Barack Obama dominates the race by virtually any other measure. He is dictating the agenda and soaking up news coverage as McCain and his team scramble to react.

“McCain is snakebit,” lamented one longtime Bush loyalist.

On Sunday, New York Times columnist Frank Rich — no McCain fan admittedly — declared that Obama’s triumphant sweep through the Middle East and Europe had revealed him to be practically the “acting president.”

Most political pros continue to believe the race remains within the GOP’s grasp. But two months of the five-month general election campaign are gone, and the McCain campaign — in a rerun of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s frustrations — are still searching for an effective formula for countering Obama’s appealing personality and fearsome political machine.

Too often, GOP insiders grumble, McCain’s strategy seems simply reactive. On Sunday, Obama announced he’d be meeting with his economic advisers on Monday. On Monday morning, the McCain campaign announced a conference call with his economic advisers.

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McCain’s bitterness, frustration and near-obsession with Obama are on plain display: He even gave some free advertising to his opponent’s book the other day, complaining about the Illinois Democrat’s headline-grabbing trip.

"We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right," the Arizona Republican said Friday, playing off the title of Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope."

McCain's aides recognize that the race is becoming centered on Obama and hope to leverage that dynamic by bolstering their assault on the Democratic nominee-in-waiting.

In a private conference call with outside allies Friday, McCain campaign chief Steve Schmidt said the campaign would greet Obama’s return to the country with even sharper attacks this week, according to a source on the call.

Schmidt told these Republicans that the campaign would push the “risk” question about Obama and also begin to calculate and trumpet the hefty price tag on his proposals — a staple of the Bush campaign’s rhetoric against Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry in 2004.

“Tougher ads are in store for Obama this week,” according to a McCain source.

“The campaign is committed to driving a sharper, more disciplined message contrast,” said an aide.

At least the “sharper” part of this pledge was made apparent with the release of a new ad on Saturday night that seized on Obama’s cancellation of a planned visit with wounded American troops in Germany to suggest he nixed it upon being told “the Pentagon wouldn’t allow him to bring cameras.”

The shape of the race, while unquestionably desirable for Obama, also carries huge risk for him. As the newcomer on the national stage, and the first African-American presidential nominee, the campaign is becoming a referendum on him and the willingness of skeptical swaths of the electorate to embrace that level of change all at once.

Every poll leaps from the page with the same message: Voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country and want to elect a Democrat. The question now looming over the race is whether they are willing to elect this Democrat.

Half of the voters surveyed in a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released last week said they are focused on what sort of president Obama would be. Only a quarter said the same about McCain.

Ho-hum just another pee on McCain article from the drones at Politico. Later they will have at least one or MORE robe rubs and tingles for Obama. This is too dull for me, have fun today kids.

Bye the way I think McCain sucks, but I never voted for him. The old white guys at the country club picked him. Obama on the othe hand was selected by a criminal political machine and bomb makes and socialists in Chicago. They BOTH suck.

mccain has indeed turned into a gaffe machine. CHICAGO, IL (SNRK News) -- In the wake of two weeks filled with one blunder after another on basic facts of national security from geography to recent history, Barack Obama's campaign is reeling and taking hits from all sides. The once ascendant Obama campaign is now struggling to regain its footing in the wake of what seems to be an onslaught of negative press coverage. "This man's ignorance about matters vital to saving American lives is simply astonishing," said conservative columnist Charles Sauerkraut-Hammer. "No American voter in their right mind would let this man anywhere near the red button--God forbid a 3AM phone call." In just a few short weeks, Obama has insisted that Shiite Iran is training hardline Sunni Al-Qaeda (forcing Republican Chuck Hagel to twice step in and correct the error), talked about the non-existent border between Iraq and Pakistan, asserted that the surge in 2007 began before the Anbar awakening in 2006, confused Sudan and Somalia, inaccurately called David Petraeus the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly referred to the nonexistent nation of Czechoslovakia, and ignored Afghanistan by calling Iraq the first major conflict after 9/11. And these are only a few of Obama's recent gaffes. Meanwhile, Iraqi president Nouri Al-Maliki was recently quoted in a German magazine supporting McCain's plan to stay in Iraq for the full 100 years necessary to stabilize the oil-rich nation, which in turn forced the Obama campaign to adopt McCain's rhetoric, calling for a "centennial withdrawal horizon."

Obama Obama where art thou Obama? How does everyone like the elite Hollywood and liberal MSM wolfpack sponsored campaign of Obama's? Well it appears as if the American people are beginning to see thru this "show and propaganda campaign.

The new USA Today /Gallup poll has McCain surging past Obama. Oopps I forgot Obama doesn't like the word "surge". Fresh back back his act in front of 200,000 European Socialist elites, Obama is finding a different picture here in America where he and his party continue to BLOCK domestic develop of our own natural resources. Harry and Nancy are hold up in the big white building with a dome blocking every attempt by moderate Democrats and Republicans to lift the ban on off shore oil drilling.

It appears the Environmental lobby is paying them enough to represent them instead of us poor Americans suffering from their, THE DEMOCRATS, bad moves for decades now, blocking the ability of American companies to develop and produce our own energy supplies.

I think a lot of Americans were wondering when most Americans were really going to "see" the "Emperor without any clothes". And thank God there are beginning to see the "nothing" behind the man and the act..........

I think a lot of Americans were wondering when most Americans were really going to "see" the "Emperor without any clothes". And thank God there are beginning to see the "nothing" behind the man and the act..........

Good morning Perception

Did you see the headline on newsmax.com this morning. if not, here's the link

Well done little Timmy... you have found ONE poll of "likely voters" that has McCain ahead... yet you forget to mention that ALL the rest of the polls conducted the same period give Obama leads ranging from 3% to 8%.

But why would you mention that? it is obvious that you only see what you want to see... and there is no worse kind of blindness that one of choice.

And please, quit it with the offshore drilling, don't you people have ANY foresight? Everyone with half a brain knows that if there is offshore drilling off the US coast, the increase production will not happen until 10 years from now... when the price of oil will be even higher than today. The increase production of maybe 1% of total world output will not make a dent in the oil prices.

For some reasons, all you morons who are claiming that offshore drilling is the answer seem to ignore that oil is an international market, increased production in the US wont make oil cheaper for Americans... because oil companies do not discriminate on who they sell their product to.

Maybe you morons should start advocating for the future instead of the past... the same 10 years that you need to wait for the oil from offshore drilling, the same economic investement you are advocating... invested in renewable energy sources will give much more benefits in the long term.

I hope this poll does not represent a new trend. I don't think it does but who knows? I do think no mater what the polls show now when the debates start the polls and the election will turn to the democrats. Senator Surge will make mistakes and there will be no hiding them then.

John McCain - about as Maverick as Blanche from "The Golden Girls" ( but older )

Maybe you morons should start advocating for the future instead of the past... the same 10 years that you need to wait for the oil from offshore drilling, the same economic investement you are advocating... invested in renewable energy sources will give much more benefits in the long term

The offshore drilling would create jobs NOW along with the building new refrineries, and more neucler plants are for JOBS which is so desperately needed to help economy. This alone is enough to help with the rising prices. Just the lifting of the ban stopped the speculators dead in their tracks and prices started droping imediately. Gas is now below $3.75 a gallon in my area. that is down from $4.25 a gallon.

All one has to is see who's ran the better campaign ..................Obama.........While Obamahas consistently stayed on message McCain continue's to go on the attack.

What happened to running a clean campaign fly-boy McCain? You baggered Obama consistently about taking a trip oversea's , and then when he does you crawl all over him making snarky remarks like 'Obama wants to be president of the world' Just burned your biscuits to see all the attention he recieved did'nt it?

John McCain whines at the media saying 'The media has a love affair with Obama'. And when the media starts trying to give fair coverage.................McCain only attacks Obama. And now the RMSM (The Republican media spin machine) Say's that thier now going to start attacking Obama's charecter, did'nt work for Hillary why is going to work for McCain?

And nowJohn also accep' s a time table on Iraq(how politically convient) after calling Obama's plan for such a thing foolish, and i quote 'Obama wants to win the presidency by losing the war' you want more? This here is from the CNN political ticker.

In an interview broadcast on ABC's "This Week," host George Stephanopoulos asked McCain if he supports a referendum on the ballot in his home state "that would do away with affirmative action."

"Yes, I do," he responded. "I do not believe in quotas. But I have not seen the details of some of these proposals. But I've always opposed quotas."

Who are you John McCain? The only thing i keep getting shoved down my throat is that your a POW. Wow!! and you love this country......................So what.............You have to give us more. Love of country doesn't make gas cheaper, does'nt bring back jobs that have been lost. Being a POW does'nt help the mortage crises.

You will be a one term president who will not look for imeddiate solutions (Unless it entails more war) You will only glide by for four years not getting anything done ( especially on the weekend) And therefore this country under a John McCains presidency will not see any REAL economic relief until 2013, not until the next presedential election. And by then it just may be four years too late.

Of course it is. After the report confirming wrong doing in the Justice Department do you think we want to hear more lies from another Republican? McCain is just like all the other Bush-Republicans. We don't want to hear about them. We don't want to vote for them. We will not believe them. We just want to forget them. They have caused too much pain in the lives of others to warrant much more. There will be no justice because President Bush will just pardon the lot. It would be best for Americans to just forget about the Republicans until if/when they can transform their party into a political party from a den of political criminals.

Incredible. As they always do, Bush and the Republicans stand side by side with the chemical industry and, of course Big Oil, who continue to claim that toxins in baby toys is fine. Do they ever stop propping up these corporations, ever? Now that McCain is receiving so much lobbyist money from Big Oil, we know he's not going to change these policies.